1/32 SPAD XIII Hobby Craft / Georges Guynemer

Started by Louis Gardner · 37 ≡ · ↻ 1 month ago
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    George R Blair Jr said 3 months ago:

    Painting the flag markings look like they could be a lifetime endeavor, Louis (@lgardner). Hopefully you have a good stock of masking tape.

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    Louis Gardner said 3 months ago:

    John vd Biggelaar (@johnb)
    I am building my first ever Roden kit, and so far it is going well. I like it so far. Once I get the "Hat in the Ring" decals, I will have the ability to build the "Flag Bus" SPAD XIII, so it should be a fun time. I'm not exactly looking forward to all of the masking involved, but I do think the end result will definitely be worth it. This is a plane that I have wanted to build for years, just like my Werner Voss Albatros. Please stay tuned as I hope to get busy with it soon.
    Thanks my friend.

    IAN Convey (@firelockg)
    Thank you SO VERY much ! You have just made my entire week with your generous and kind offer. I sent you a PM with my mailing address. This is a plane that I have wanted to build for a long time now... years even. The first time I saw a picture of the Chambers "Flag Bus" I was hooked. It looks so cool in the Red, White, and Blue colors.

    I am not looking forward to all of the masking, but I think I can pull it off easier if I start out with a White base, adding the Blue next and the Red after that. It will be a lot of masking, but I think the end result will be worth it. It will check off one of the to do models from my bucket list. It's right up there with the Voss Albatros D-III for me...

    Thanks again it is sincerely appreciated.

    George R Blair Jr (@gblair)
    Yes sir, I agree ! It will be a lot of work for sure, but if it turns out like I want it to, it will be worth it all in the end. This is a plane I have wanted to build for many years now. I'm not getting any younger, and there's no time better than the present. I can then check off another one of those special builds I have wanted to do for many years, just like the Werner Voss Albatros D-III is on this same to do list.

    Thanks again for everything, and I hope to hear from you all again soon.

    Take care.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 months ago:

    Great that you ordered the Roden kit, my friend @lgardner!

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    Louis Gardner said 3 months ago:

    Spiros Pendedekas (@fiveten)
    I too am very happy that I ordered the Roden SPAD VIIc. I was surprised today when it arrived in the mail. It was several days early. I'm going to be posting some pictures up next showing what is in the kit. I am very pleased by what I see in the box. If it fits as good as it looks I think we will have a winner here. I have read that the engine is hard to install and get everything to close up afterwards. I also think I read something about the engine panels being a bit tricky.

    We shall see.

    Also,
    IAN Convey (@firelockg) has offered to send me the Hat in the Ring decals. Since I have this Roden SPAD 7, I will now be able to make a Georges Guynemer SPAD with the famous "Storch" on the sides of the fuselage and the big red #2 along with "Vieux Charles" by the cockpit.


    Then I can build the Hobbycraft kit in the colors of Reed Chambers "Flag Bus"... and since it is a later SPAD XIII, no wing tip modifications will be necessary.

    In some illustrations they show the leading edges of both wings as being a solid White color. I have found online three different pictures of his plane. I will have to study them closely to see if I can see if this is correct or not.

    In other illustrations and gaming skins, they have the leading edges done in a Blue, with multiple White stars on the Blue as seen here. Time will tell which version I go with. For now I am leaning towards the Blue leading edges with the stars on them. If you look closely at the original B&W photo, the Blue is washed out and very light. I looks as if the gaming skin is correct with the landing gear struts also being painted with Blue.

    Both of these paint schemes, the Guynemer and the Flag Bus SPAD are model aircraft that have been on my "to build" bucket list for many years now. I'll call this a win / win for me.

    Thanks again Ian. I wouldn't have been able to do this otherwise. I sincerely appreciate this.

    Please stay tuned. I have some pictures coming right up. Thanks.

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    Louis Gardner said 3 months ago:

    This is what arrived in the mail today.



    The kit I scored on Evilbay was still sealed. It was originally purchased by someone from Sprue Brothers who placed it in stock way back on December 30th, 2014. Almost 10 years ago... wow.

    I couldn't resist it. I removed the shrink wrap because I wanted to see what was in the box.

    Here are the markings I will be using.

    This plastic tree has fuselage parts various cowling vents and the horizontal stabilizer.

    This one has the main fuselage halves, the elevators and rudder, along with two different props.

    These are the wings. Thankfully they are molded as one part.

    The surface detail looks nice, and the under camber is well done too.

    These are the various clear parts. There are several different wind screens.


    There are three smaller parts trees. The top one contains the engine parts. It looks to be very nice.
    The lower two are identical,


    with two different styles of main wheels included. The LG struts are also on here.

    This looks overall like it will be a nice kit. The truth will be known as the building progresses.

    For now I'm calling it a day. Thanks for stopping by.

    As always, comments are encouraged.

    Good night.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 months ago:

    The kit looks great in the box, my friend @lgardner! Let's hope it builds well.

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    John vd Biggelaar said 3 months ago:

    Looks like to be a wonderful kit, Louis @lgardner

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    Paul Barber said 3 months ago:

    The twists and turns @lgardner ! Your mailman has been getting a workout. Love the choices!

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    Louis Gardner said 2 months, 2 weeks ago:

    First off I am pressed for time tonight so unfortunately I have to keep it short.

    Spiros Pendedekas (@fiveten)

    John vd Biggelaar (@johnb)

    Paul Barber (@yellow10)

    Thank you everyone for your kind words. I sincerely appreciate them and will make a better reply soon.
    IAN Convey (@firelockg)

    Our good friend Ian Convey came through with the decals for the Hat in the Ring 94th Aero Squadron !

    Now that these have arrived I can finally build my own Reed Chambers Flag Bus SPAD XIII ā€¦..

    I love it when a plan comes together and how we all seem to help each other out when needed.

    I am giving Ian a great big shout out to tell him Thank you VERY MUCH for sending these to me. They made a very long journey and have arrived safely.

    So please look forward to seeing future updates on this project.

    Iā€™m calling it a night. As always comments are encouraged.

    Thanks for stopping by and good night everyone.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 2 months, 2 weeks ago:

    Great decals, my friend @lgardner thanks to our friend @firelockg!

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    John vd Biggelaar said 2 months, 2 weeks ago:

    Those decals are great, Louis @lgardner
    Great that Ian @firelockg was able to submit them.

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    Louis Gardner said 1 month, 2 weeks ago:

    Spiros Pendedekas (@fiveten)
    John vd Biggelaar (@johnb)
    Thank you for the compliments on the decals. My hat's off to Ian for sending them to me.

    Speaking of decals... I was wondering about what I was going to do with my concerns about the multiple stars that are visible on Reed Chambers "Flag Bus" SPAD XIII.



    As luck would have it, I took some educated guess measurements using some of the original B&W photos. Then I was able to make a determination about what size to look for. As best I can tell the stars used on the original SPAD measured approximately 6 inches across. It took a little bit of math to figure out what I needed. The hard part was finding something that would work.

    This is what I came up with:
    It would have been perfect if the star decals were between 4.5 to 4.75 MM wide. The best I could find were 5 MM. So these will be slightly too big.

    But they will look good enough I think. (His famous last words). šŸ˜‰



    The wings were painted with White paint on both the top and bottom sides.


    The horizontal and verticals were also sprayed at the same time.

    The next step will be to mask off the the Blue color. The Red Stripes will be added last. Hopefully there will not be any problems with paint seeping under the tape. Time will tell.

    Thanks for stopping by, and have a good night.

    As always, comments are encouraged.

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    John vd Biggelaar said 1 month, 2 weeks ago:

    The white on the wings looks great, Louis @lgardner
    I think those 5mm stars will look perfectly fine when all is done.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 1 month, 2 weeks ago:

    Excellent progress, my friend @lgardner! I also think 5mm will look great!

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    Louis Gardner said 1 month, 2 weeks ago:

    John vd Biggelaar (@johnb)

    Spiros Pendedekas (@fiveten)

    Thank you gentlemen. I placed the star decals next to the wings today and it does look as if they will work out just fine. The truth will come when I try to use them on the rudder / fin assembly. I have several pictures of the real plane to go by, that show the exact placement of some of these stars. I made some more progress this evening, so please stay tuned for another installment.

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